


Gentle Breeze

by ChiefofPigs



Category: Notice Me Senpai! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Happy Ending, Kouhai is named Koneko, Slight fluff, holding secrets in is hard, model!kouhai, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiefofPigs/pseuds/ChiefofPigs
Summary: Koneko is juggling her new work at the café, new classes as a student at Ikemen Academy, and her work life as a model. She is doing her best to keep her modeling life a secret from the other students, but slowly things begin to slip between her fingers.





	Gentle Breeze

“Dude, have you seen the new magazine?”

“Who hasn't?”

“Page 34.”

“Yeah.”

“God, she’s so hot.”

“Suzuki said that he had a photo shoot with her before.”

“Yeah, I think I saw that pic floating around. He was so damn smug about it.”

“Well, I would be too if I had the chance to put my arm around Zephyr.”

“God, can you just imagine? Lucky bastard.”

Ears burning in embarrassment, Koneko cleared her throat as she stood in front of the senpai, hoping to gather their attention for the second time. “Senpai, can I get you any coffee or pastries while you’re visiting the café today?”

They finally looked up at her and she tried to ignore the looks of distaste as they internally compared her to the model in the magazine in front of them.

“Oh, not today, kouhai. We’ll uh...get out of your hair.”

The second boy withheld a derisive snort, although the smile was still visible between the fingers he held up to his lips.

“C’mon,” the first boy grumbled and stood, giving Koneko another glance out of the corner of his eye as he walked past her to the door, his buddy right at his heels.

She picked up the abandoned magazine they had left at the coffee table, doing her best to ignore the jeering laughter they shared just outside the door, unaware that she could hear them repeating “out of your hair” back and forth as they meandered back to the main building.

Flipping to the page she had heard them mention, she could see why they found the girl so attractive. Mid-length brown hair seemed to float around her face, curled perfectly to accentuate her heart-shaped face and bright green eyes. Full lips were coated lovingly with blossom-colored gloss, the highlight of whichever makeup brand she was displaying for the ad.

Young, beautiful, pure.

Koneko toyed her bottom lip between her teeth. Ears now pink for an entirely different reason, she moved back to her position behind the register, chucking the magazine in the trash.

If those senpai knew that she was not only the café barista but also the model Zephyr, they would probably wet themselves in apology if she told them to.

Brushing her long bangs carefully back over her eyes with her fingers, she shook out her apron and waited for the arrival of her next customer, taking a deep breath of the coffee-scented air around her.

If they only knew.

\-----

It took nearly a month before Koneko could say that she had café regulars. It had taken her longer than she had anticipated to get some decent coffee beans and although she would bake or order the desserts from well-established bakeries to display in the glass case by the register, they weren’t as popular as the caffeinated drinks that most students seemed to live off of. She knew that many who had come in a few times at the beginning of the year may not come again now that the sensation of a female student had faded into the background of school events and classwork.

A renewed vigor ran through Koneko as she thought of this, pulling out a spray bottle of cleaner and a rag to clean the tables for the umpteenth time that afternoon, wanting the white ceramic to sparkle. Maybe then they would actually catch someone’s eye and they would come in to make an order.

She was so involved that she totally missed the soft chime of the bell at the café door. Scrubbing at a sticky spot of dried tea forcefully as she muttered to herself, someone cleared their throat behind her.

Koneko jumped with a squeak, holding the cloth up in her hand as though brandishing a weapon as she twisted to face the boy that had come in, her hair flying up around her head with the intensity of the spin. Recognizing who it was, she placed her free hand over her rapidly beating heart and let out a relieved sigh, dropping the cloth on the table.

“Seiichi-senpai, you scared me.”

“I am here to pick up the order for the student council,” he said stiffly, meeting her eyes warily.

“Yes, yes, of course,” she said, lifting her fingers to fix her bangs as she walked over to the coffee machines. “I will get those made right now, it’ll be just a minute.”

Seiichi followed a few steps behind, waiting in front of the counter patiently, watching every move she made. Koneko was used to the scrutiny at this point. Seiichi seemed to study her motions, as though working in his mind the coding and math to have his robots make similar actions, smooth and humanlike. She had seen some of his robots before and they really were quite incredible.

Carefully packing the coffee cups into a cardboard carrying case, Koneko pushed them across the countertop and took the bill Seiichi was holding out. She entered the charges and payment into the register. The money tray popped out a half inch from the machine as it blinked the amount of return change at her. Grumbling, Koneko stuck her pinky in the gap and yanked it open, counting out Seiichi’s change before slamming it shut again.

“Do you want me to take a look at the register? I do not believe using that much force should be required.” Seiichi tucked the change in his wallet after you passed the coins to him, stuffing it back into his pocket.

Koneko blushed. The subtle insinuation that she was beating up the machine was not lost on her. “It’s okay, Seiichi-senpai. It might just need a little tune-up or oil or something.”

“Let me know if you would like me to take care of it for you. I can put in a order for a new register for you if necessary, but I think it could be easily fixed.”

“Really, there’s no need.” Koneko fidgeted with a lock of hair before she cleared her throat and tucked it behind her ear.

Seiichi hesitated as he picked up the case of drinks. “You know that your secret is safe with the student body presidency, kouhai.”

“What secret?” Koneko dodged, her fingers digging into her apron at her sides, giving away her anxiety the unforeseen statement gave her.

Seiichi watched her for another moment before blinking and giving a curt nod, securing the drinks in his arm and leaving the café.

\-----

Koneko pouted as she prepared the café for the morning, filling the glass case with pastries and various types of breads. The slightly sticky feeling of the lip gloss as she mouthed to the music playing on the jukebox and the glimmering polish shining at her as her fingers moved under the case lights annoyed her already and the morning had only begun.

The makeup line that sponsored her had sent her a few samples of their new products and wanted her to give them her opinion after using them. Usually she would be excited and would deck herself out on the weekends, giving the company her truthful opinion so they could quote her for their promotionals. However, this time they were on a shorter time frame than normal and needed her to give them an answer by the end of the day. Which meant she would have to wear them to school.

She usually did her best to not catch too much attention from her peers in classes. It would be too troublesome if the entire student body found out about her double life. So Koneko kept from wearing makeup and bright colors, as much as she wished she didn’t have to.

The emerald nail polish caught her attention again as she closed the case and she grimaced. It didn’t help that she wasn’t so fond of the products this time. She’d have to think of a polite way to give her testimonial as she went through the day.

The bell jingled and she looked up from her hands to see the smallest third-year student step in, his stuffed rabbit slung over the crook of his arm. On a mission, he barely spared her a glance as he sped over and crouched in front of the glass case, eyeing the pastries.

“Good morning, Yuu-senpai,” Koneko said with a smile, leaning an elbow on the counter and setting her chin in her palm as she watched him, his eyes flicking back and forth across the presented goods. Yuu had a strong sweet tooth and she took no offense to his lack of manners as he single-mindedly searched for his first treat of the day.

“Morning, kouhai,” he responded absentmindedly. “Do you not have those chocolate donuts in today?”

“Sorry, not today. I can get them for tomorrow if you’d like me to request them.”

“Yeah, those were delicious.”

“Sure thing.” Koneko pushed off the counter and searched her apron pocket for her pad of paper and pencil, leaving herself a note for later.

“I’ll have one of those fruit tarts. The one with the strawberries on it.” Yuu pointed through the case, his tongue poking out to wet his upper lip as though he could taste it already.

“Perfect, I’ll get that for you right away.” Koneko shoved her pad and pencil back in her pocket as she yanked a wax paper square from a box behind the counter, opening the case and gesturing towards the tart in the middle. “This one here?”

“Yes, please.”

Koneko carefully grasped the edge of the tart with the slip, making sure not to mess up the shiny fruit dip or strawberries as she did.

“Oh, kouhai!” Yuu exclaimed and Koneko jumped, nearly losing the tart on the floor. “Your nails are so cute!”

She felt her cheeks heat at the compliment, standing up and setting the tart on a small, decorative paper plate. “Thank you, Yuu-senpai.” She looked down where Yuu was still crouched, meeting his gaze for a moment.

His own face began to redden and his eyes widened. He rocked on his heels before bursting back up to his feet and added, “They match your eyes, you’re--it’s really pretty.” Before she had time to respond, he threw a few bills on the counter and picked up his plate, leaving the café as quickly as he had come in. Before the door could fully shut, he popped his head back in and stammered, “Keep the change, kouhai-chan.” Then he was gone, speed walking to the main building, his rabbit’s legs waving wildly at his side with the pace he set.

Koneko blinked, unsure how to react to the interaction. Yuu usually would stay and chat with her until more students came in, so it was odd that he would leave in such a fashion.

Slowly closing the door to the case, her heart twisted. He had mentioned her eyes. He must have had a good view from where he had been looking up at her. She combed her trembling fingers through her hair, doing her best to cover her face again, trying to hold back her tears. It didn’t mean that Yuu knew who she was. She trusted him enough to not tell anybody if he did. At least, no one outside from Akira, and there was no one Akira would tell. Right?

\-----

Koneko closed her eyes and willed her stomach to stop flipping. A soft brush swept her cheeks and was followed by a wand to her lips. She opened her mouth slightly as the lipstick was applied, waiting until she had the go ahead before she closed her mouth and lifted her head to look at her manager, who was holding out a mirror in front of her.

“Zephyr, the black is rather striking, don’t you think?” The older woman gave her a smile and Koneko nodded her head. It was admittedly outside of her usual look, but she knew she would pull it off perfectly. The photographer was one she had worked with multiple times before and wouldn’t take offense if she bounced ideas off him or did her own thing in front of the lens.

This time however, it was not a shoot for herself. An entertainment company had approached her manager, requesting for Zephyr to do a cover with one of their clients. Something grungy, dark. Koneko had agreed to the shoot. It was a good opportunity to spread out and try something new.

“It’s time. Are you ready to go out?” Her manager asked.

“Bring it on,” she said with a grin and her manager gave her a thumbs up, the stylist leading them out of the dressing room to the waiting photographer and her partners for the shoot, along with their manager.

Taking a deep breath, Koneko put on a bright smile, slipping into her professional persona. The lead boy for the band standing in front of her gave her a once-over and the photographer welcomed Koneko. She nodded to him with a demure response and turned to face the group. The other boys nodded their heads at her politely before slipping back to the set, murmuring to each other and chuckling at what was likely an inside joke, leaving her alone with their manager and the lead.

“Yamato-san, it’s a pleasure to work with you and your band today,” Koneko said.

“Yes, thank you for agreeing to this photoshoot, Zephyr-chan,” Yamato’s manager said when Yamato took slightly too long to respond. “We are excited to collaborate with you for Yamato’s new album cover.”

“No, thank you for the opportunity! I have been excited as well.”

Yamato finally spoke, his voice icy. “Are you sure you can pull off a shoot like this? It’s not some cutesy makeup ad.”

Koneko turned back to Yamato with a soft smile. It hurt to hear him speak with her like this, as she had had a lively conversation with him only a few days ago about some of the musical instruments he used to play as a kid. But that was Koneko, not Zephyr. “Thank you for your concern, Yamato-san. I believe I will surprise you with my range of talents.”

He huffed in disbelief and turned to go on the set. Koneko gave a quick glance at the photographer, who returned the look with a shrug.

“I apologize for his behavior, Zephyr-chan,” his manager sighed, giving her a weak smile.

“It’s understandable,” she said. “I will work hard to get along with Yamato-san.”

“Alright everyone, let’s have a good shoot,” the photographer said loud enough for his crew to hear. “Go on up, Zephyr. It’ll be just a moment. You remember the first pose we had discussed?”

“Yes, I will get in position.” Koneko gave the photographer and manager a shallow bow and stepped onto the stage, her heels clacking as she crossed the tile.

With each step she took to get to the center of the stage, the further her smile slipped off her face until her expression was serious, a glint of playfulness in her eyes as she looked over the boys waiting for her, exuding confidence. She rolled her shoulders, gathering a feel of the faux leather jacket she wore, her black spandex shorts hugging the top of her thighs with a comfortable pressure.

Koneko had been given a basic theme of the album they were releasing next month. Lovesickness, jealousy, unrequited feelings. The single that had already been released was topping the charts, Yamato’s baritone voice telling the story of falling in love with his best friend’s sister. 

The first few shots were simple. One where she sat in the middle of them all on a park bench where they imitated a candid shot, Koneko crossing a leg over the other and resting her elbows on the back of the bench, looking into the camera provocatively. One where she stood facing the bassist, a hand on his chest as she looked up at him and her other hand behind her, hooking a pinkie with the drummer’s.

The last shot they had planned had Yamato sitting on an overturned bucket, leaning in over himself with his arms on his knees, hands hanging between his spread legs. Koneko was to be bending over behind him, her arms draped over his shoulders to rest on his chest and her mouth at his ear. The leather jacket was slouched to reveal the bare skin of her shoulder where they were going to edit the band’s logo in post.

“Please get comfortable with each other,” the photographer told them. “We’ll begin shooting in a couple minutes.”

Koneko nodded and turned to Yamato, who was already sitting in place, watching her with guarded eyes. She gave him a smile and he looked away. Her smile dropped and she let out a long breath. Yamato had a hard shell and if there was anything he hated the most it was a fangirl. Stepping over to kneel next to him, Koneko watched the photographer’s team talking to each other as they adjusted the lights for the new scene. Yamato was tense for a moment and she heard him shift, his leather pants stretching as he turned slightly away from her.

“I know you don’t like me much, Yamato-san,” Koneko said, breaking the silence. “But I am working my best to enhance your work, not distract from it.” She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “Think of it like...tuning the strings to that acoustic guitar of yours.”

Yamato’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about? My guitar is electric.”

Koneko realized she messed up and quickly looked away. She had mixed up his guitars. The acoustic one belonged to the café. The guitar that he performed with was electric. “Is it? My apologies.”

Another moment of silence passed between them before Yamato spoke, a smirk nearly audible in his voice. “You smell an awful lot like coffee.”

Koneko took a deep breath, a cold sweat breaking down her spine. “I wasn’t able to wash my hair before the shoot. I apologize if the smell bothers you, Yamato-san.”

“I rather like it, actually.”

The photographer called out to them to get into position and Koneko stood, moving behind Yamato. They had switched now, Yamato confident and Koneko stiff with anxiety. Koneko laid her arms over Yamato’s shoulders and pressed her hands to his chest.

“Zephyr-chan, please relax your shoulders. Lean into Yamato more. Dip your shoulder lower.”

Koneko followed instruction and when she went to place her mouth to Yamato’s ear, he turned slightly her way and said in a quiet whisper, “Does Suzuki know?”

She kept her eyes trained on the camera as her body trembled. “No.”

“Mmm. It’s your secret to tell, I suppose.” He adjusted his head again to line up with the rest of his body and face the camera again.

Koneko recognized that that was Yamato telling her he would keep his newfound knowledge to himself. She did her best to keep a relieved smile off her lips and pressed herself tighter against his back in a semblance of a hug. “Thank you, Yamato-senpai.”

\-----

Koneko wasn’t sure why she had ever agreed to this in the first place. She fidgeted at the front of her costume, pulling out the wrinkles from where she had been sitting behind the stage.

Kurou had a way about him that made it hard to say no. When he had approached her on a delivery for the drama club and asked her to participate, she really had done her best to refuse. The stars in his eyes and his hopeful expression had her saying yes before she could think of an excuse not to. But she had taken responsibility for herself, somehow squeezing practice in between her classes, work at the café, and modeling.

He had given her plenty of compliments and said she was a natural on the stage, which was no surprise, really. Koneko couldn’t lie to herself and say that she didn’t enjoy it. It was nice to have someone tell her how her hard work paid off without further agenda.

Yet all of that had distracted her from the inevitable end. She was going to be performing in front of the student body. Hundreds of eyes would be on her and she knew there would be no escaping. It wouldn’t matter if her part was a side character or not.

“Koneko-kouhai,” a harsh whisper spoke next to her and she jolted out of her thoughts, looking up at the boy in front of her. “You’re going up soon, get in place.”

“Thank you, Ryuu-senpai.” She got to her feet and took a shaky breath as she approached the set.

“Hmmph. Break a leg.”

Koneko stifled a chuckle at Ryuu’s strict tone, knowing he meant the best. “Thank you, senpai.” Feeling more confident, she lifted a hand to the microphone at her ear, switching it on as she stepped onstage.

She was on top of her lines and her acting, playing her short scene perfectly, bounching off Ai and Tokiya’s characters. She did her best not to fall into a grin and hold her stoic expression as they made the audience laugh and Ryuu’s dramatic entrance onstage brought out startled gasps. When the stage went dark for the intermission, Koneko joined the rest of the crew in the back, changing her outfit for when she would join them in the final scene.

“Koneko-kouhai,” Kurou said, approaching her as she left the dressing room with a smile that lit his face. “You are doing great! If you’ll sit over there, we’ll touch up your makeup and hair.”

“My hair?” Koneko asked, reaching up to touch the side of her bangs.

“Yes! I had been debating all through rehearsals and decided that it would suit the final scene much better if you had it curled back from your face.”

A cold nervousness spread through her stomach and she opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out as she faced his eager expression. Finally, she gave a small nod, barely noticeable.

“Perfect,” Kurou said, placing a hand on the small of her back and gently lead her to a seat next to Tokiya where he was getting a touch up as well. “He’ll get that done when he finishes up with Tokiya. Thank you, thank you!”

And with that, he was off, checking in with each of the actors before they had to go onstage again. Koneko glanced over at Tokiya and found that he had already been looking at her. He smiled and waited for the last brush across his cheeks and swipe on his lips before he spoke, the boy doing his makeup backing off to recollect his equipment.

“Princess, you are doing amazing out there. Your practice is definitely paying off.”

“Thank you, Tokiya-senpai,” Koneko smiled in return, trying to calm her racing heart as she eyed the stylist, who was warming up a curling iron. “Yours has, too.”

“That’s all thanks to the many line readings I had with you, my princess,” he said with a wink. “It makes it easy to remember when I think of my time spent with you.”

She laughed a bit, his easy flirting helping calm her nerves. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Well, I am going on first, so I will leave you to it.” He said, getting to his feet and adjusting his costume, plucking off a few hairs that had gathered on the velvety fabric.

“See you out there,” she responded and he gave her one last smile before leaving her alone with the stylist.

There was a moment of silence before the boy went behind her, brush and curling iron in hand. “I’ll start in the back and work forwards. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Koneko said on a trembling breath, closing her eyes as he worked her hair in his tools.

They were both quiet, listening to the intermission music fade out and be replaced by Tokiya’s strong voice, the audio from the mic playing behind stage as well. The soft click of the iron began to get closer and closer to her ears and Koneko stiffened. His fingers were gentle as he picked up strands of hair, brushing the tips of her ears softly. When he finally reached to her bangs, she opened her eyes again, watching his face carefully.

He met her gaze and he jumped, releasing the iron and taking a step back. “Well, crap,” he grumbled. Koneko closed her eyes again, bracing herself for his next words. “If I’d known, I would have used my ceramic one.”

Koneko’s eyes flipped open and her mouth fell open. That was not the reaction she was expecting.

The boy snorted and moved back in to take another lock of hair, twisting it around the iron. “Well, we’re this far now. Just make sure to condition it tonight.”

Koneko closed her mouth and opened it again. “You know who I am?”

“Yeah, Zephyr, right? I like the product you endorse.” He finished up the last part of her bangs and brushed his fingers around until he was pleased with how her hair laid on her head. “There’s a lot of people at this school who are famous out there in the real world, too.” He set the iron to the side and picked up a makeup brush. “Close your eyes.”

Falling into a stunned silence, Koneko sat and followed his directions, turning her head this way and that until he was satisfied. He began packing up all of his materials in a tote, clipping the box shut with a snap.

“You’re all good to go.”

“Thank you, senpai,” Koneko said softly, standing up and walking over to the side of the stage, empty but for her. Everyone else was either on stage already or would be entering from the other side.

Her thoughts traveled, and she watched the boys move across the stage. Sooner than she realized, it was her time to enter the stage. The lights faded as the backgrounds were turned around and she put herself in position. The lights brightened up again and before she could open her mouth to say her line, Tokiya jumped a foot away from her and cursed under his breath, staring at her with wide eyes.

“I know this is rather unexpected,” Koneko said, a slight tremble in her voice as she began her line. “But I believed in you and your trust in me.”

The crowd was stirring, a hum of mumbling and whispering reaching them onstage.

“Yes,” Tokiya said, the timing of his response slow. “Your trust in me has helped me push through my obstacles, one by one.”

The noise was getting louder, closer. Koneko glanced over at the audience to see many of them standing up, calling out to them onstage. She heard her name - her stage name - being called out to her.

“Zephyr, it’s Zephyr!”

Trying to calm down, her panicked gaze slid over to Kurou, who was standing in the wings. His clipboard had dropped to the ground next to him in what she supposed was shock, his mouth open as he stared at her. She jumped as she felt Tokiya’s hand on her arm, but when she looked up at him, he wasn’t paying attention to her. He was instead looking over at the edge of the stage.

Koneko twisted to see a couple of boys, ones she recognized passing in the hallways, climbing onto the stage, calling out to her and telling her that they were huge fans. Her heart flew into her throat, choking out anything she could have possibly said as Tokiya pulled her to his chest and held his prop sword out towards the boys, taking quick steps backwards, pulling Koneko off the stage.

“Close the curtains, close the curtains,’ Kurou called out. “Hurry, hurry!”

Ai and one of the other actors that had been onstage with them ran to push the students back. The rapidly closing curtain separated them, muffling the shouting on the other side. Tokiya didn’t release Koneko until he was sure of her safety in the wings. Koneko felt tears burning down her cheeks, her shock chilling her to the bone.

“Kouhai,” Kurou said, pulling her attention to him. He looked distraught and guilty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t...I wouldn’t have…”

“I need to go,” Koneko whispered, finally able to squeeze her voice out.. “I need to get out of here.” She turned and began to run, dodging props as she burst through the emergency exit door, running out toward the café across the field.

“Wait, Koneko!” Kurou called out, but she ignored his voice as the emergency alarm drowned out anything else he had to say.

She had become too comfortable, too trusting. It was only a matter of time before her secret was out, but this wasn’t the way she had wanted it to happen. Not like this. She should have known better than to accept Kurou’s invitation, should have gone back to him and said she couldn’t do it after all. But it was too late to take anything back now.

Koneko ran until her lungs felt near to bursting, pausing only to grab her school bag from the café before continuing her way out of the school gates back to her grandmother’s house.

\-----

Koneko shut off her alarm on her phone. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t turned the setting off for it already. It had been a week since she had gone back to school and the embarrassment and fear had not lessened since.

The doorbell had rung multiple times a day the last few days. Her grandmother always answered it and turned away anyone who was asking for her, per her request. She knew this wasn’t fair to her grandmother, but the mere thought of going back made her feel ill. Her grandmother didn’t push her. Instead, she made her some of her favorite dishes and gave her extra hugs, hoping it would help her feel well enough to go back. She knew she only had the best intentions, but it didn’t really help.

Koneko nestled back into her covers, attempting to go back to sleep when she heard a knock at the door. Sighing, she covered her ears, pretending that it had been a phantom sound. But when a second, third, fourth knock happened and the doorbell rang, she flipped the blankets off, wondering for a moment why her grandmother hadn’t opened the door yet before remembering that this morning was her grandmother’s weekly visit to the local farmer’s market.

Grumbling and throwing on her robe, she padded out of her room to the front door, peeking out the peephole to the other side. Her eyes widened in surprise and she yanked the door open.

“Kyouya-sensei?”

The third-year teacher gave her a gentle smile. “Good morning, Koneko-chan. May I come in?”

“Um,” she glanced behind her, not sure if she should really allow a male teacher into the house while alone.

“Are you by yourself? If that is the case, I will make it quick.” He reached into his leather satchel and pulled out a manila folder, passing it over to her.

Koneko took it from him and opened it up, peeking at the contents. Inside were pages of schoolwork, color-coded sticky notes peeping up between the sheets, categorizing the subjects. Looking back up, she swallowed nervously.

“My homework?”

“Yes.” Kyouya smiled gently at her. “I’ve had quite a few students worry about you falling behind in classes and they gave me copies of your worksheets along with class notes.”

Koneko looked again at the first page in her hands, a small alien face decorating the corner of each colorful note. She couldn’t help but let a small smile touch her lips, recognizing Touru’s signature from notes of thanks he would occasionally leave in the café.

“Oh, and I brought these as well.”

Kyouya pulled out a bundle from his bag, waiting for Koneko to tuck the folder underneath her arm before passing it over. She carefully opened the tie around the package and unwrapped the brown parchment paper, finding dozens of letters inside, addressed to her. The familiar handwriting of her name on the letters caused her heart to thump painfully in her chest, tears pricking her eyes.

“Your work in the café is sorely missed,” Kyouya said. With a chuckle, he added, “I know I’ll appreciate it when I can stop drinking the teacher’s lounge coffee again.” Adjusting his bag, he lifted a hand to pat Koneko gently on the head. “We all miss you. I hope you will return to your classes again soon. Until then, please feel free to contact me, so I can pass on your completed homework to your teachers, and pass any new assignments to you. The principal has made a special exception to hold your spot for your return, so don’t worry about your absences. We understand the situation you are in.”

“Thank you, Kyouya-sensei,” Koneko murmured, rolling a shoulder up in an attempt to wipe her tears from her eyes.

“Of course. Anything for you.” Kyouya took a step back and nodded his head at her. “Until we next see each other. Have a great day.”

“Goodbye, sensei.”

Koneko watched as Kyouya made his way back to the sidewalk and continued on his way to work. Once he was out of sight, she shut the door and went to the kitchen, dropping the items from her arms onto the table. One by one, she opened and read the letters, letting the tears fall from her face to her trembling hands.

_Tokiya seems to be having a hard time without you. Hurry and come back so I can have decent coffee again. - Ryuu_

_Life has become dull without you inspiring my every day. I hope you feel better and come back soon. - Touya_

_It’s been quiet without you. I miss our conversations each afternoon together. - Itsuki_

_I will always be here to cheer you on. I hope you will feel better again. - Akira_

_The stuffed animals in the café miss you almost as much as I do. Please don’t forget to come by and visit us all soon. - Takeru_

_I miss seeing you in the mornings with the deliveries. Please let me know if I can get you anything. - Takahiro_

With each letter and note, Koneko’s heart felt lighter, as though a weight was lifting from her as she cried. These were her friends that she was leaving behind. With every “I miss you”, she realized how much she missed them too.

Setting the letters to the side, she opened the folder with her carefully organized homework. Flipping through the pages, she found that with each assignment, Touru had written down personal notes specific to the information, his spindly handwriting filling the pages with shortcuts and hints to remember the information easily. On the very last sheet was a short note from him.

_Good luck. - Touru_

Wiping her face with the sleeves of her robe, she stood up from her chair and found a pencil on the kitchen counter. Settling back in, she went back to the first page and began to write.

\-----

Koneko stood at the school gates, taking deep breaths in and out. It was her first day back and she was more anxious than when she had entered the school grounds for the very first time.

The principal had sent her a letter of apology on behalf of the student body and made her aware that those who had had negative reactions during the play had been reprimanded. He wanted her to feel safe at his school and would do all in his power to make it so.

Other students were starting to arrive, walking around her to go through the gates. Most of them didn’t give her a second look and she wasn’t sure if that made her more or less nervous. Kicking herself for loitering, she took those few steps to pass through the gate, starting her small trek to her classroom.

Due to the amount of homework and class time that she had missed, she wasn’t planning on opening the café today. There were so many things to catch up on that she knew she would be too busy to keep it up for a day, maybe two. She looked forward to when she would enter the small building again, though. She missed the comforting smell of magic beans and baked goods, but most of all she missed the company.

Her classmates told her that they missed her, asking if she felt better. A couple blushed as they talked to her, but otherwise their interactions were much the same as before the incident. Her teachers gave her any remaining homework she had missed that Kyouya hadn’t been able to get to her and a few of her classmates made copies for their notes for her to study for the upcoming tests.

It was the end of the day and she was opening her shoe locker to change her shoes when a note fell out, fluttering to the floor in front of her. Bending down, she picked it up, flipping it open to read it.

_Please come to the café. - S_

Koneko’s heart jumped and a smile spread across her face. Quickly changing her shoes, she nearly skipped with large strides across the grounds to the small café. Approaching the building, she didn’t see any lights on inside, but the sign on the front door read “Open.” With sweaty palms, she pushed on the latch, the bell tinking above her head as she opened the door.

“Welcome back, kouhai!”

The lights flipped on and she was greeted to the sight of all of her third-year friends. Reiji, Shun and Ren set off confetti poppers and Souma stood in the middle, presenting to her a beautiful, sky blue, three-tier cake.

Koneko felt the tears already streaming down her cheeks, tasting the salt as they made their way to the corners of her wide grin. “I missed you all so much,” she said, voice cracking as she tried not to sob.

Jéan and Souh both approached her and handed her their handkerchiefs. Takeru jumped forward to give her a tight hug and she returned it warmly. Several of the other senpai gave her hugs as well and Souma set down the cake and began to slice it. Saying hello and catching up with each of the senpai individually, Souma finally approached her with a slice of the cake on a plate.

“Welcome back, kouhai,” he said.

“Thank you, Souma. Thank you all, so much.” Koneko dabbed at the corner of her eyes with the second handkerchief, the first one soaked through.

“I made this one specifically for you. I’m calling this recipe ‘Gentle Breeze.’” He gave her a knowing smile as she choked out a short laugh. He took the fork and cut off a bite, holding it up to Koneko’s mouth. “Say ‘ahh!’”

“Ahh!”

As the soft sweet taste of the cake spread across her tongue and the love for her friends spread warmth from her heart to her soul, she looked around at all of the smiles around her and realized that she never had had anything to worry about in the first place, not when she had them.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was started in October 2017. I finally finished! Thank you all for reading and a huge shout out to Kashi for helping me push through my dead times. <3


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